In the electrical utilities industry, maintaining cable integrity may be critical. A loss of cable integrity, for example, a short circuit in a high voltage cable, may result in a crippling power outage or, even worse, a loss of life. One everyday task that may pose a great threat to cable integrity is the formation of electrical connections.
When electrical connections are formed, a bare metal surface may be exposed such as a splice connector. If the connection is made between two insulated cables, it is assumed the connection is in a harsh environment, such as a water-filled duct or buried under rocks. In turn, it is necessary to effectively rebuild the cable's electrical insulation, metallic shield, and environmental protection over this connection. If the connection was energized without rebuilding the cable layers, the metallic connection may fail immediately or very soon after. Thus, there is a need to protect such electrical connections from the environment.
Many power networks require electrical shielding that is broken into sections to prevent lossy circulating currents. A splice connection is a good place to provide a shield break because the shielding is already cut during splicing and must be remade during the splice installation. The shield break may, however, allow the two adjacent shield networks to have a high electric potential difference relative to each other due to magnetic induction caused by the current in the main power conductor. The splice must withstand high voltages on each side of its shields due to this phenomenon.